FIGHTING MCNULTY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may/june 2012 :: RMTnews 12 T his year’s Station Staff and Associated Grades conference met in the beautiful setting of Teignmouth along the route of Brunel’s South Devon Railway. The organisers were delighted to be able to report that around half of the delegates were new faces, a positive sign that the union is recruiting new activists building a strong and vibrant organisation for the future and president Chris Riley opened conference with a warm welcome to the South West to all those in attendance. Proceedings got under way with a “state of the industry” presentation from assistant general secretary Pat Sikorski. Pat focussed on the threats, changes and challenges that had been thrown at the union in the 12 months since conference last met, most notably the government’s adoption of all of the core recommendations of the McNulty Rail Review in a Command Paper. “We know what’s at stake now, thousands of jobs, the wholesale closure and running down of ticket offices and the drive to a faceless railway in the name of profit regardless of any consideration for either safety or customer care,” he said. Pat described the whole McNulty package as the “ATOC masterplan” – drawn up by the train companies for the train companies with the connivance of a ConDem government in hoc to big business. Tribute was paid to the union campaign on London Midland to defend ticket offices under the guidance of RMT regional Organiser Ken Usher. London Midland is seen as a pilot for the ticket-office closure programme set to be unleashed across the rest of the country where the company are finalising a financial package with the government that will result in virtually every booking office being either restricted or axed – in reality a ‘cash for closures’ scandal. The RMT-led campaign has secured 18,000 individual objections and engaged the support of passenger groups, disability organisations, politicians and the wider public in a model of the kind of resistance that the union will need to mobilise to stop McNulty on a national basis. Pat Sikorski said that there should be no doubt the government, particularly the LibDems, were vulnerable and our message was “we are coming to get you”. “They are right to be nervous as the thousands of people who use our ticket offices are key voters in key seats and we have a real opportunity to ramp up the political pressure and turn this into a massive popular issue,” he said. Dennis James, Birmingham Rail, explained how the London Midland campaign had motivated members and built from the grassroots and warned delegates, “it’s us today and you tomorrow.” Dennis also sent out the alert that industrial action would be required alongside the political and public campaigning to force the closures issue with the government. Ross Marshall, Camden, briefed the conference on the pressures on London Underground staff in the run up to the London Olympics. “Staff are being bundled through safety critical licence training in one day and regulations that are there to protect both the public and our members are being bent to try and cope with the sheer numbers of the Olympics,” he said. Ross also pointed out that right-wing Tory Brian Coleman – since dumped by the London electorate – had refused even to acknowledge complaints and concerns in his role as chair of the Fire Authority. RMT is continuing to campaign loudly and publicly on the Olympics safety issue. Phil Jones, Cardiff, drew the comparison with events at the Millennium Stadium where agency staff had been swung in on a temporary basis and later ended up taking over station environmental jobs. Concerns were raised that a similar underhand manoeuvre may be under way on the new Greater Anglia franchise. Craig Pearson, Liverpool, said that Merseyrail had developed the theme, explaining how the rapacious operators from the Carlisle group were using their foothold gradually to take over FIGHTING MCNULTY Packed Station Staff grades conference resists job cuts and ticket office closures